Inside Green Star, 24th edition, May 2025

15 May 2025

Inside Green Star – A word from Elham Monavari, Head of Green Star Strategic Delivery, GBCA 

We’ve hit the ground running in 2025, and despite the uncertainty globally, it’s been the busiest start to a year in the GBCA’s history. This momentum tells us one thing: the industry is not only embracing Green Star but embedding it in the DNA of outstanding projects. It’s clear that certification is increasingly being used as a key driver of transformation.

The end of 2024 saw a record number of Green Star submissions cross our desks. While we’re thrilled to see so many of you engaging with Green Star, the immense volume has resulted in some delays as we work to scale up and meet demand.

To those who may have experienced delays, thank you for your patience and understanding. A special thanks also goes to our Certified Assessors, who have gone above and beyond to meet the demand, responding quickly and stepping up when it counted most.

As Green Star continues to grow, so too does our need for assessors. If you’re interested in joining our assessment panel, we’d love to hear from you.

Your feedback is important to us, and we endeavour to put comments received in the Green Star Satisfaction survey into action. Ensuring you the Green Star experience is smooth, and rewarding is a commitment we want to make to you, so please get in contact if you need help or have a question, it helps shape the improvements we make.

In response to your feedback, we’ve made several key changes over the past year. Not only have we expanded our Green Star team and assessment panel, but we’ve also introduced a range of resources and updates to support you, including:

  • A direct API (Application Programming Interface) between NABERS and Green Star Performance v2, to simplify the process for those that report against both schemes
  • Improvement to the Green Star Buildings online submission app’s document manager function, making it easier for you to submit evidence for assessment
  • A record number of FAQs published in a single financial year
  • New guidance materials to help those new to Green Star navigate the process and access essential resources 
  • New guidance on alternative certification pathways, including volume, sitewide, and the newly launched Multiple Buildings, Single Rating
  • Additional Leadership Challenges, such as Green Star Performance v2: Time of Energy Use and Green Star Buildings: Building as a Material Bank
  • Updated submission templates for projects targeting Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification
  • New calculators including the Waste Reduction Calculator, Waste Reduction Bulk Calculator, and Sustainable Transport Calculator  for Green Star Performance v2
  • Improved navigation and access to Green Star resources on our website

And we’re not stopping there. Coming soon:

  • Offline calculators, with an automatic upload function for Green Star Buildings to help you when working as a project team, and in submitting online
  • Green Star Buildings Design submission guidance
  • A practical, step-by-step guide for submitting Green Star Buildings online
  • A regular technical newsletter to walk you through new resources and FAQs

Growing Green Star to keep up with demand is what excites us the most, so keep an eye out for the next Inside Green Star for the latest updates and insights designed to support your Green Star journey.

Applications now open for new Green Star Certified Assessors

Certified Assessors play a pivotal role in Green Star by reviewing whether project documentation submitted to the GBCA for a Green Star rating, meets the requirements to obtain the desired rating.

If you are a Green Star Accredited Professional, with experience in the Green Star rating system, you should consider applying. Information on the Green Star Certified Assessor role, including position description and method to apply, is available online at GBCA’s Careers page.

We have multiple positions available, and applications close end of June 2025. If you have any questions, please contact assessment.panel@gbca.org.au.

Faster recognition of your NABERS rating in Green Star Performance v2

GBCA has worked with NABERS to establish a direct link (API) between Green Star Online for Green Star Performance that enables a fast solution to populating NABERS ratings in the online portal. This will save a significant amount of time for project teams, avoiding manual entry. By implementing the API, project teams can now access verified NABERS rating information for their GSPv2 submissions across entire portfolios. For further information and information on how to use this new function, read our guide.

Read the guide

MBSR Guidance for Green Star Buildings Projects

On 30th April we released a new guidance document for the Multiple Building Single Rating (MBSR) approach under Green Star Buildings.

The Multiple Building Single Rating Support Document: Guidance for Green Star Buildings Projects provides a clear credit specific pathway for certifying multiple buildings under a single Green Star Buildings v1 certification. The document provides credit-by-credit guidance specific to Green Star Buildings v1 and outlines submission expectations to help you apply the MBSR approach with confidence.

Guidance on how to apply the MBSR approach is now available in the Green Star resources portal, on our website, and in FAQ F-00476. A reminder that MBSR is a by exception approach, and project teams wishing to use this approach must first seek approval through an Eligibility Query before registering the project. Should you wish to discuss your project prior to registration, please contact the Market Engagement team.

Guidance for Submitting Designed Assessments

What makes a Designed Assessment unique from a Certified rating? We have produced a guidance document outlining the principles of Designed Assessments for Green Star Buildings. This includes when projects can submit and provides examples of acceptable documentation.

This document was developed in consultation with project teams and assessors and aims to align submission expectations and drive consistency in Designed assessments.

Find the document in the Green Star resources portal

Green Star Buildings Online Guides and Tutorials

Following the success of our guides and online tutorials for the Green Star Performance v2 portal we have now made guides and tutorials for Green Star Buildings Online available.

These guides are intended to support project teams using Green Star Online, and includes guidance on how to use the online submission portal, how to submit, how to structure and name files for ease of management, tips and tricks, and much more.

Visit the Green Star Buildings Online Guides and Tutorials page

Technical newsletter

A new regular technical newsletter for Green Star Accredited Professionals working across all Green Star tools is set to be released soon. This short update will provide links to resources that have been updated or released and will provide information about new and existing FAQs.

Green Star Apartments – short course for existing GSAPs, last chance to register for 21st May

This short course gives GSAPs a technical intro to the Green Star apartments pathway, what sets it apart and how to apply it to your next project. Topics include pathway philosophy, key differences from the Buildings tool and insights from our early access participants

Spots are limited, register now.

New Green Star resources 

Check out our recently published resources that can help you on your next Green Star project.

  • New guidance on alternative certification pathways, including volume, sitewide, and the newly launched Multiple Buildings, Single Rating
    Additional Leadership Challenges, such as Green Star Performance v2: Time of Energy Use and Green Star Buildings: Building as a Material Bank
  • Updated submission templates for projects targeting Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification
  • New calculators including the Waste Reduction Calculator, Waste Reduction Bulk Calculator, and Sustainable Transport Calculator for Green Star Performance v2 
  • Green Star Buildings Design submission guidance
  • A practical, step-by-step guide for submitting Green Star Buildings online
Available on the resources page